kj8

Q: 2008 Mac Pro - Freezing

I have an Mac Pro (early 2008) running on 10.11.6 El Capitan with 16GM of memory and my start up disk is newer SSD and I have 2 other installed spinning drives on it one that has the old OS system that I use to as a drive to find older files and another newer T1 drive where I keep all of my files.

 

My computer has recently been freezing a couple of times a day. I'm able to mouse around the screen but I can not click on anything and any keyboard shortcuts do not work either. I'm using a wacom intous 4 which I've disconnected and tried just the Apple mouse but neither work. There are no unfreeze key commands that work either the only way I've found to unfreeze it is by shutting it down with the power button. The power button also doesn't react to the one tap it has to get held down to shut off. If I have music streaming the music will still be playing.

 

Typically I haven't been doing anything special when the computer has frozen. I've had it happen in safari and in firefox, with spotify running and spotify off, with Adobe Illustrator CC running I've had it freeze the most but I have not been working on complex files.

 

I know my machine is older but I have updated ram, hard-drives and have taken good care of it. I really don't want to replace it.

 

Things I've tried: Resetting Pram, resolving fonts in Font Book.

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6), 2 x 3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon, SSD

Posted on Sep 16, 2016 1:48 PM

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Q: 2008 Mac Pro - Freezing

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  • by Kappy,Apple recommended

    Kappy Kappy Sep 16, 2016 1:57 PM in response to kj8
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    Sep 16, 2016 1:57 PM in response to kj8

    Could be failing RAM. Could be you have startup items or other installed items that could cause such a problem. You might try:

     

    Try these in order testing your system after each to see if it's back to normal:

     

    1.  a. Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM

         b. Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)

    2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:

         Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the

         Command and R keys until the Utility Menu screen appears.

    3. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu screen appears. When the Utility Menu appears select Disk Utility and press the Continue button. After Disk Utility loads select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) entry from the the side list.  Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait until the operation completes, then quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.

    4. Download and Install OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 Combo Update.

    5. Reinstall OS X: Reboot from the Recovery HD. Select Reinstall OS X from the Utility Menu, and click on the Continue button.

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Sep 16, 2016 1:57 PM in response to kj8
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    Sep 16, 2016 1:57 PM in response to kj8
    •   Note the time of the next freeze. After rebooting open the Console app in Finder>Applications>Utilities and look for log entries at the time of the freeze. Post suspicious ones here.

    Look before the log entry that starts with BOOT_TIME since that is the first line of a bootup

  • by kj8,

    kj8 kj8 Sep 16, 2016 2:14 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Sep 16, 2016 2:14 PM in response to lllaass

    For some reason it looks like I don't have a utilities folder in Applications.

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Sep 16, 2016 2:42 PM in response to kj8
    Level 10 (188,994 points)
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    Sep 16, 2016 2:42 PM in response to kj8

    Did you try finding the Console app using Launchpad?

  • by kj8,

    kj8 kj8 Sep 16, 2016 2:48 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Sep 16, 2016 2:48 PM in response to lllaass

    Found it. At 2:16 I rebooted here is some of the info.

     

    What would a suspicious log entry look like? I have 100's of kernel's with numbers and letters leading up to it:

     

    9/16/16 2:05:15.000 PM kernel[0]: 0xc03c6900

    9/16/16 2:05:15.000 PM kernel[0]: 0x00000010

    9/16/16 2:05:15.000 PM kernel[0]: ** GPU Debug Info End **

    9/16/16 2:05:29.372 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:05:30.379 PM watchdogd[403]:  [watchdog_daemon] @(__wd_service_report_unresponsive_block_invoke) - failed to gather a spindump for (com.apple.WindowServer)

    9/16/16 2:05:57.000 PM kernel[0]: IOHIDInterface unsuccessfully requested close of clients: 0xe00002c7

    9/16/16 2:06:14.507 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:06:15.512 PM watchdogd[403]:  [watchdog_daemon] @(__wd_service_report_unresponsive_block_invoke) - failed to gather a spindump for (com.apple.WindowServer)

    9/16/16 2:06:39.655 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:07:04.790 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:07:29.940 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:07:55.083 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:08:20.231 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:08:31.273 PM BezelServices 255.10[94]: ASSERTION FAILED: dvcAddrRef != ((void *)0) -[DriverServices getDeviceAddress:] line: 2789

    9/16/16 2:08:31.274 PM BezelServices 255.10[94]: ASSERTION FAILED: dvcAddrRef != ((void *)0) -[DriverServices getDeviceAddress:] line: 2789

    9/16/16 2:08:45.377 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:09:10.525 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:09:27.000 PM syslogd[40]: ASL Sender Statistics

    9/16/16 2:09:35.671 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:10:00.816 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:10:25.963 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:10:51.111 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:10:53.797 PM com.apple.iCloudHelper[1408]: AOSKit WARN: APS timeout encountered (cxn initialization)

    9/16/16 2:10:53.797 PM com.apple.iCloudHelper[1408]: AOSKit WARN: Failed to get response from APSConnection's initialization method(s)

    9/16/16 2:11:16.255 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:11:41.406 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:12:06.556 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:12:31.698 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:12:56.770 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:13:18.000 PM kernel[0]: IOHIDSystem posted stackshot event 0x00000038

    9/16/16 2:13:21.889 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:13:28.000 PM kernel[0]: 016452.535246 IOUSBHostHIDDevice@fd520000,1: IOUSBHostHIDDevice::interruptRetry: resetting device due to IO failures

    9/16/16 2:13:47.018 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:13:52.668 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.xpc.launchd.domain.system) Service "com.apple.xpc.launchd.unmanaged.BluetoothReport.1428" tried to hijack endpoint "com.apple.bluetoothReporter" from owner: com.apple.bluetoothReporter

    9/16/16 2:14:12.167 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:16:19.000 PM bootlog[0]: BOOT_TIME 1474056979 0

  • by lllaass,Apple recommended

    lllaass lllaass Sep 16, 2016 2:55 PM in response to kj8
    Level 10 (188,994 points)
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    Sep 16, 2016 2:55 PM in response to kj8

    Based on this

    9/16/16 2:05:15.000 PM kernel[0]: ** GPU Debug Info End **

    could be a graphics card problem. That is not that unexpected if your 2008 has its original graphics card.

    Can you post more previous log entries?

  • by kj8,

    kj8 kj8 Sep 16, 2016 3:01 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 16, 2016 3:01 PM in response to lllaass

    It has the original graphics card. I have a Evga GeForce CTX560Ti I can install but what I currently have is:

      Chipset Model               AATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256 MB and  it is in Slot-1.

      Type: GPU

    9/16/16 2:04:12.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: com.apple.WebKit(1387) deny(1) system-fsctl 682f

    9/16/16 2:05:04.235 PM watchdogd[403]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/16/16 2:05:05.242 PM watchdogd[403]:  [watchdog_daemon] @(__wd_service_report_unresponsive_block_invoke) - failed to gather a spindump for (com.apple.WindowServer)

    9/16/16 2:05:08.974 PM smd[1390]: BUG in libdispatch: 15G31 - 1718 - 0x0

    9/16/16 2:05:09.000 PM kernel[0]: ** Device in slot: SLOT-1 **

    9/16/16 2:05:09.000 PM kernel[0]: ** GPU Debug Info Start **

    9/16/16 2:05:09.000 PM kernel[0]: 0x00009588

    9/16/16 2:05:09.000 PM kernel[0]: 0x000000d8

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Sep 16, 2016 3:17 PM in response to kj8
    Level 10 (188,994 points)
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    Sep 16, 2016 3:17 PM in response to kj8

    Per

    http://forums.macrumors.com/threads/frequently-asked-questions-about-nvidia-pc-n on-efi-graphics-cards.1440150/

    the 560Ti card should work without additional drivers in 10.7.5 or later. Do not forget to connect the AUX power connectors on the graphics card to the AUX connection on the logic board. You need Mac cables; PC ones do not mate with the connectors on the logic board.

    Just note that if you are using a PC card (vice a Mac Flashed card) there will not be a boot screen so you can't use special startups like Recovery, Option key and other startups since there is nothing on the screen until the drivers load.

     

    This9/16/16 2:05:09.000 PM kernel[0]: ** Device in slot: SLOT-1 **

    tends to indicate graphics card problem

  • by kj8,

    kj8 kj8 Sep 23, 2016 10:40 PM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 23, 2016 10:40 PM in response to lllaass

    Hi lllaass,

     

    I replaced the graphics card and have the same freezing issues. Here is the recent system log.

    Do you think the new graphic card is not working correctly? It's the same issue where I can move the mouse around but can not interact with anything on the screen. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

     

    9/23/16 11:20:29.376 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:20:39.298 PM watchdogd[250]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/23/16 11:20:39.402 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:20:40.000 PM kernel[0]: NVDA(Graphics): Channel timeout!

    9/23/16 11:20:40.000 PM kernel[0]: NVDA: Channel Info: [0, 0x3, 0x2, 0xff]

    9/23/16 11:20:40.000 PM kernel[0]: NVDA: Version Info: [com.apple.GeForce, 10.1.0, 0x7d780b0a, 18894120, 310.42.25f01, 1]

    9/23/16 11:20:42.066 PM spindump[362]: Saved userspace_watchdog_timeout.spin report for WindowServer version ??? (???) to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/WindowServer_2016-09-23-232042_Mac-Pro.userspac e_watchdog_timeout.spin

    9/23/16 11:20:42.069 PM watchdogd[250]: [watchdog_daemon] @(__wd_service_report_unresponsive_block_invoke) - spindump gathered for (com.apple.WindowServer) at (/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/WindowServer_2016-09-23-232042_Mac-Pro.userspa ce_watchdog_timeout.spin)

    9/23/16 11:20:49.429 PM DumpGPURestart[554]: Saved gpuRestart report for kernel to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2016-09-23-232049_Mac-Pro.gpuRestart

    9/23/16 11:20:50.467 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 1 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 9 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:20:59.491 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:21:04.426 PM watchdogd[250]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/23/16 11:21:09.514 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:21:19.541 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:21:21.000 PM kernel[0]: NVDA(Graphics): Channel timeout!

    9/23/16 11:21:21.000 PM kernel[0]: NVDA: Channel Info: [0, 0x3, 0x2, 0x100]

    9/23/16 11:21:21.000 PM kernel[0]: NVDA: Version Info: [com.apple.GeForce, 10.1.0, 0x7d780b0a, 18894120, 310.42.25f01, 1]

    9/23/16 11:21:29.551 PM watchdogd[250]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/23/16 11:21:29.568 PM DumpGPURestart[560]: Saved gpuRestart report for kernel to /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Kernel_2016-09-23-232129_Mac-Pro.gpuRestart

    9/23/16 11:21:30.647 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 1 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 9 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:21:39.669 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:21:49.697 PM com.apple.xpc.launchd[1]: (com.apple.DumpGPURestart) Service only ran for 0 seconds. Pushing respawn out by 10 seconds.

    9/23/16 11:21:54.691 PM watchdogd[250]: [watchdog_daemon] @(_wd_daemon_service_thread) - service (com.apple.WindowServer) reported as unresponsive

    9/23/16 11:22:52.000 PM bootlog[0]: BOOT_TIME 1474694572 0

  • by kj8,

    kj8 kj8 Sep 23, 2016 10:50 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Sep 23, 2016 10:50 PM in response to Kappy

    Hi Kappy,

     

    I'm unable to access the Utility Menu. Holding the command and R keys after the chime do not open Utility Menu. Is there another way to open and run First Aid and to repair the HD/Permissions?

     

    Thanks!

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Sep 24, 2016 12:42 AM in response to kj8
    Level 10 (188,994 points)
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    Sep 24, 2016 12:42 AM in response to kj8

    What do you see/get to when you boot with Command+R?

  • by kj8,

    kj8 kj8 Sep 24, 2016 9:48 AM in response to lllaass
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 24, 2016 9:48 AM in response to lllaass

    Hi!

     

    It took a really long time to get to the utility screen with command+r but it did work!

     

    The options were:

    First Aid

    Partition

    Erase

    Unmount

    Info

     

    I've run first aid before and did it again today and there were no errors, everything was "ok". I have the 10.11.6 combo update already.

     

    The new graphics card has all the correct cables and AUX power connectors on the graphics card to the AUX connection on the logic board perfectly. There are 2 going into the logic board those are each connected to the graphics card. It was a pretty simple install but I had to order the correct cables first so I was offline for a week.

     

    I hope it's not time to replace my computer I've made lots of upgrades to it with

    ram (16 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM)

    SSD (240 GB Solid State SATA Drive)

    T1 drive (SATA Disk) for file storage

    This graphics card (EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2048 MB)

     

    There is plenty of free space on both of my drives. I haven't even been using my Adobe CC yet and it is freezing. Typically I keep all my files on my T1 drive and applications all on my SSD. Whatever current CC file I'm working on I work on it on the SSD then move it over to the T1 but the freezing is happening even when I'm just on Safari. I haven't even run CC since the new graphics card install.

     

    Is it possible that the new graphics card is bad? Do you think that maybe the time out that is happening on the new graphics card is what is causing the freezing? Maybe it's just not capable on the mac?

     

    Thanks in advance!

  • by lllaass,

    lllaass lllaass Sep 24, 2016 10:34 AM in response to kj8
    Level 10 (188,994 points)
    Desktops
    Sep 24, 2016 10:34 AM in response to kj8

    The GPU restarts tend to indicate a problem related to the graphics card.

    "Saved gpuRestart report"

    Are you installing any special drivers for the card?

    Can you

    Run this and post the results here so we know more about your configuration.

    http://etrecheck.com/

    EtreCheck

    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6172